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This is happening in Cyprus right now, but if it works there, it will work here. Remember that "bank depositor" is just another way of saying "private citizen" or "sucker". Don't be fooled: Their savings is being used as a "bailout" for the private financial sector and to "save" the Euro. This is not about helping actual Cypriots. No wonder there was a run on ATMs! Imagine being asked to fork over 10% of your savings to save a currency. You might do it to help a church, but to tithe to a currency?

...In a radical departure from previous aid packages, euro zone finance ministers want Cyprus savers to forfeit up to 9.9 percent of their deposits in return for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout to the island, which has been financially crippled by its exposure to neighboring Greece.

The decision, announced on Saturday morning, stunned Cypriots and caused a run on cashpoints, most of which were depleted within hours. Electronic transfers were stopped.

The move to take a percentage of deposits, which could raise almost 6 billion euros, must be ratified by parliament, where no party has a majority. If it fails to do so, President Nicos Anastasiades has warned, Cyprus's two largest banks will collapse.

One bank, the Cyprus Popular Bank, could have its emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) funding from the European Central Bank cut by March 21.

A default in Cyprus could unravel investor confidence in the euro zone, undoing the improvements fostered by the European Central Bank's promise last year to do whatever it takes to shore up the currency bloc.

A meeting of parliament scheduled for 10.00 a.m. ET on Sunday was postponed for a day to give more time for consultations and broker a deal, political sources said. The levy was scheduled to come into force on Tuesday, after a bank holiday on Monday.

BREAKS A TABOO

Making bank depositors bear some of the costs of a bailout had been taboo in Europe, but euro zone officials said it was the only way to salvage Cyprus's financial sector, which is around eight times the size of the economy.

That would be truly awful if it happened in the U.S. But something like that could happen!

When 2 businessmen make a deal, there are two winners.
When the government makes a deal with a business, there is usually a victim, and he usually isn't at the meeting.

The fact that Wells Fargo is the 4th largest payer (paid 9.1 billion dollars in income tax)of income tax in America will not slow them down one bit. The Democratic followers are now taught that corporations pay no income tax, oil companies get special breaks, and yada-yada-yada.

I don't believe it will be 10 percent or anything, but I certainly can see a time where there is a "fee" of some sort that we are all required to pay out of our checking accounts. But it will be only on the rich. You know, those who put more than 1,000$ into their accounts at any one time.

Thankfully David Cameron refused to sign up to the treaty that provided for this nonsense, but the thought of a bank run in most of the eurozone is a huge worry. The ever wonderful Daniel Hannan offers the Cypriots some advice here:
"Either Cyprus is going to have to find the money to fund the bailout, or it's going to have to leave the Euro - to default, devalue, and decouple," is the cold hard truth that UK MEP Daniel Hannan explains in this brief clip. Neither of these paths, he goes on to say, is an easy one, but he believes "there is no doubt the second of them is the less painful - allowing Cyprus to price itself back into the market and start exporting its way back to growth again." ...http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-0...lf-back-growth

That would be truly awful if it happened in the U.S. But something like that could happen!

When 2 businessmen make a deal, there are two winners.
When the government makes a deal with a business, there is usually a victim, and he usually isn't at the meeting.

The fact that Wells Fargo is the 4th largest payer (paid 9.1 billion dollars in income tax)of income tax in America will not slow them down one bit. The Democratic followers are now taught that corporations pay no income tax, oil companies get special breaks, and yada-yada-yada.

I don't believe it will be 10 percent or anything, but I certainly can see a time where there is a "fee" of some sort that we are all required to pay out of our checking accounts. But it will be only on the rich. You know, those who put more than 1,000$ into their accounts at any one time.

Technically, corporations don't pay taxes, they collect them from us. If I tax a corporation, that corporation will pass that tax along as part of the cost of doing business. Governments like this because it makes it look like the government is (a) putting the screws to fat cats and (b) it masks the fact that it's taxing us through a proxy. But, what's really pernicious is when government taxes us indirectly, by redirecting goods or services without taking an obvious cut. For example, the minimum wage is a government mandate on business to pay funds over and above what they would otherwise pay for labor. It's redistribution of wealth, and the only reason that it isn't considered a tax on business is because it's passed directly from the taxpayer to the recipient without going through Washington. Zoning rules are essentially taxes on property, except that instead of collecting money, the government collects a service in the form of forcing someone to put their land to a use other than they would otherwise. Government doesn't have to stick its hand in your pocket in order to rob you.

Originally Posted by Bailey

You guys better get ready for that to happen here. You hear from time to time a "progressive" float this particular idea, its only a matter of time before its enacted

Pretty much any idea that they float today is something that they will impose tomorrow. If you want to see how they planned this, go back a century and read what the Progressives proposed before people caught onto their act.

Since the Parliament in Cyprus voted this down, I think we can stand down on the panic levels about it here. (Where's that running in circles, hair on fire guy? Consider him inserted here).

The fact that it was attempted should put you on your guard. The Clinton administration proposed a 15% "tax" on Roth IRAs and 401-K accounts, but it was derailed when the Democrats lost the congress in 1994.

Every few years there are rumors that a particular administration wants to seize private retirement funds, and so far it hasn’t happened. The rumors come in different flavors and several ideas have even been proposed before Congress. For example, the Clinton Administration proposed a one time tax against the value of private pensions, 401k plans and IRAs.

A more recent proposal involves seizing and converting a portion of privately held assets into US Treasury bonds. A more extreme proposal is a true government takeover of retirement plans which involves seizing private retirement accounts and converting them to government sponsored annuities that would guarantee and annual income for all Americans.

And before you point out that this was only a proposal, the Clintons did manage to replace most of the Social Security revenues with Treasury bonds, which meant that they were able to "borrow" and spend the Social Security trust fund. If they could do it to Social Security, there's no reason why they can't do it to banks that were forced to take TARP funds and are still under de facto government control.

This is about the dumbest plan ever. A short term fix, that will only cause long term problems worse then the one's they have now. And funny, the socialist leftist states are demanding it.

Think about what it will do.

They have locked down all the banks right now. No one can access their money so the state can take their 10%.

This hurts every one, even worse the lower income people and those struggling. Right off the bat. It lessons some of the burden the Gov. has right now with their debt, but its only a ban-aid to the greater problem.

But when those banks re-open, the people will rush them demanding their money, not trusting any of the banks, or their Gov. to try this again. This will cause a run on the banks. And more then likely, they won't have the money to cover it. You will see banks collapsing as it did here in our past, and people who were not first in line will likely see any money they did have left in the banks disappear as they collapse. Not to mention possible riots at banks as people can't get their money or furious about losing 10% like this.

This will then ripple to jobs as business's will ether start having calls from desperate banks demanding repayment to survive unable to repay loans, loss in economy activity and an over all worsening of the economic situation.

Then think long term. If people don't trust their banks not to have this happen again. Those banks cant survive, or if they do, loans are very limited with increadable interest rates. Thus making it harder for companies to expand, or even start up. Home loans near impossible, and an iron grip on the economy in general.

If you wanted to slam a nation into a desperate depression and destroy an economy, this is how you do it.